Anaerobic Digester Gas-to-Electricity Rebate and Performance Incentive

NOTE: Previous Program Opportunity Notice (PON) 2276 has been replaced with PON 2828 with updated incentives. The program is now actively accepting applications until December 31, 2015 or until the funds are fully committed.

The Anaerobic Digester Gas-to-Electricity program is designed to support small-sized electricity generation where the energy generated is used primarily at the electric customer's location (third party ownership is allowed). This program is a part of New York State Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Customer Sided Tier and is administered by New York State Energy Research and Development (NYSERDA). Applications for funding are being received until December 31, 2015, or until the funds are fully committed. Any project applications received after the fund has been exhausted will be held in a queue for next round of funding.

Eligibility

Customer eligibility is generally limited to those that that pay the RPS surcharge on their electric bills (i.e., customers of the state's major investor-owned utilities). The electricity generated under the program will be counted towards the Customer-Sited Tier (CST) portion of the state RPS. Potential applicants who are considering building an ADG-to-Electricity project can reach out the program to request free technical assistance for project development.

Program Description

A total of $57 million has been authorized to fund incentive payments for the entire program until 2015. The current PON 2828 has the budget of $10.2 million for 2014 and $10.2 million for 2015. Maximum incentive payment is limited to $2 million per Anaerobic Digester Gas (ADG) system.

The total incentive available under the current PON 2828 includes several elements. Incentives can be calculated through the Incentive Calculation Tool available at NYSERDA website. Capacity based incentives include distinct incentives for the digester and generator components of a system, as well as certain additional system components or capabilities. In summary, the available incentives are as follows (see PON 2828 for further details):

• Capacity Incentive: Capacity incentive is provided to offset the capital costs of installing a system. Different amount of capacity incentive is available depending on the design, construction, and type of system. Capacity incentive has two components- fixed base element and a variable element. Fixed base element range from $100,000 to $50,000, and is provided as a standard incentive depending on the system type. Variable capacity incentive ranges from $1,500 to $750 per KWh of power generation capacity. Additional capacity incentives are available for other project enhanced components including Black start capability, Hydrogen sulfide reduction, design to accept food waste and others. 
• Performance-Based Incentive: $0.025/kilowatt-hour (kWh) up to 10 years of verified electricity production using a 75% capacity factor. Applicant also have the option for applying for additional incentives available for H2S (Hydrogen sulfide) gas reduction processes. Incentives ranging from $0.0023/kWh- $0.004/kWh may be available depending on the type of system used for H2S reduction.
• Project Enhancement Incentive: Additional incentives are available for systems designed with additional features such as Black Start Capability, Hydrogen sulfide removal, design to accept food waste, and others.
• Interconnection Incentive: This incentive is provided to offset the costs related to Coordinated Electric System Interconnection Review (CESIR) process and implementation of grid connection. CESIR process is required for projects with installed capacity of 50kW to 2MW. Incentive is available to cover 75% of the CESIR costs exceeding $5,000 up to $50,000.

NYSERDA counts the environmental attributes associated with energy production by funded systems towards the state RPS target for the life of the system. For further program details, including application materials and information on additional requirements, visit the program web site listed at the top of this page.